Why Would a Grandfather Not Dote on His Grandson?

After Whitebeard announced the news.

The division commanders present seemed to have expected it long ago.

Their expressions did not change much.

Only Lin Yan

looked stunned.

What was going on?

How had he become a division commander?

After all,

how long had he been with the Whitebeard Pirates?

One day?

Two days?

Becoming a division commander after two days.

Wasn't that far too fast?

Lin Yan raised his head and met Whitebeard's gaze.

"You... aren't joking, are you?!"

The shock in Lin Yan's eyes was impossible to hide.

"Of course not!"

"Lin, go ahead and do what you want. You've earned this!"

Whitebeard answered Lin Yan with a smile.

He also wanted to see

just how far Lin Yan, who had emerged from the Whitebeard Pirates,

would go on the seas in the future.

"Congratulations!"

The other division commanders also said with broad smiles.

Lin's strength was right there for all to see.

They had all been beaten into depression by him before.

If he did not become a division commander,

there would be no way to justify it.

Very soon,

congratulations

rang throughout the entire meeting room.

The news quickly spread across the Moby Dick.

Surprisingly,

not only did none of the division commanders object,

not one of the more than sixteen hundred people aboard the Moby Dick objected either.

In the Pirate World, strength reigned supreme.

As long as you had strength,

everything you did was right.

They raised both hands in approval.

They strongly supported opening a new division for Lin Yan.

Some even timidly asked whether, since the new division had just been established and was short on personnel,

they could switch over and join the Seventeenth Division.

"Gurararara—!"

"How about we hold a banquet to celebrate the establishment of the Seventeenth Division?"

Whitebeard said with a gurarara laugh.

"That's enough, Pops!"

The moment he heard Whitebeard trying to use this as an excuse to drink again, Marco turned and scolded him angrily.

From then on,

the matter of the Seventeenth Division

was settled.

At the same time,

intelligence from the Whitebeard Pirates

swiftly spread throughout the seas!

The newspaper report was rather simple.

The Whitebeard Pirates had established a new division, and its commander was Lin Yan, who had only joined the Whitebeard Pirates not long ago.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

Recently,

the Marines had been negotiating with Marshall Teach.

The two sides seemed to be plotting something.

As for what exactly they were plotting,

no one else knew.

Upon learning that the Whitebeard Pirates had established a new division,

"So that guy really became the new division commander?"

Sengoku rested his chin on one hand and calmly spoke as he looked at the classified document in his hand.

"Fleet Admiral, our people report that before becoming commander of the Seventeenth Division, this Lin single-handedly knocked down thirteen Whitebeard Pirates division commanders in a row. His strength is astonishing!"

The colonel reported to the Fleet Admiral.

The matter of Lin Yan flattening so many division commanders in one go

had already reached them before this.

"Lin will likely become a troublesome opponent for the Marines in the future!"

Advisor Tsuru took off her gloves, sipped her tea, and spoke unhurriedly.

Which commander of the Whitebeard Pirates

was easy to deal with?

Yet now they had nearly all been wiped out, defeated by Lin Yan.

His strength

could not be underestimated!

"There's no need to worry too much. No matter how strong he is, he's only a division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"If he wants to shake the entire sea, even the current Whitebeard might not be able to do it. Whitebeard in his prime would be another matter!"

Garp chewed on the rice crackers in his hand. He did not care much about Lin Yan.

Indeed.

What status did Garp hold in the Marines now?

Only he had the ability to look down on those division commanders!

"Fleet Admiral, there is one more matter that deserves your attention!"

"According to reports from Sabaody Archipelago, Kid, Trafalgar Law, Jewelry Bonney, and a number of other Supernovas have already landed there!"

"Those Supernovas aren't the type to stay quiet. I think we should keep a close eye on them!"

The colonel suddenly brought up Sabaody Archipelago.

Though the Four Emperors of the New World were powerful, they followed established rules and kept each other in check, so they generally could not stir up much trouble.

But these Supernovas were different.

They feared neither heaven nor earth.

Newborn calves feared no tigers.

If they did not cause trouble,

could they become Supernovas?

"Oh? Are the Supernovas gathering at Sabaody Archipelago?"

"What about Luffy? Have Luffy and the others reached Sabaody?"

The moment he heard about the Supernovas, Garp hurriedly put down his rice crackers and asked.

Although this grandson of his was especially rebellious,

no matter how much trouble Luffy caused outside,

to Garp,

he was still just his child.

Not only that,

the reason Luffy could cause all kinds of trouble on the seas yet repeatedly escape from the Marines

was largely

because Garp had been pulling strings behind the scenes.

But as the saying went,

grandparents doted on their grandchildren.

Why would a grandfather not dote on his own grandson?

"Uh... well..."

"According to the scouts, Straw Hat Luffy and the others have not yet landed at Sabaody!"

The colonel scratched his head and forced himself to answer.

"They haven't landed yet? Then there's still time!"

Garp nodded.

"Garp! Don't tell me you're preparing to pull strings again, planning to let the Straw Hat Pirates pass through Sabaody Archipelago and safely reach the New World!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Garp noticed Sengoku's sinister gaze.

As for Garp's behavior,

Sengoku had no idea how many times he had berated him for it.

But this guy simply refused to change.

Sengoku could understand the desire to protect one's own.

Sengoku had once protected his own pirate too.

But wasn't Garp being far too blatant about it?!

"No, absolutely not!"

Garp guiltily turned his head away and began whistling.

Elsewhere,

news of the Whitebeard Pirates' Seventeenth Division being established also crossed the seas and reached the Red-Haired Pirates.

"Whitebeard actually created a new division for this rookie. Looks like this Lin is quite capable. If we get the chance, how about we board the Moby Dick and poach Lin?"

Shanks took a drink, then laughed heartily.

"Boss, isn't that a little too underhanded?"

As a member of the Red-Haired Pirates, the pot-bellied Lucky Roux said as he bit into a chicken leg.

"You wanted to poach Marco and Jozu before, and now you want to poach Lin. It'd be fine if you failed, but if you actually poached him, wouldn't Whitebeard come after you with his life on the line?"

Yasopp, the Red-Haired Pirates' sniper, was also amused by Shanks's words.

"What a bunch of old fools!"

Vice-captain Benn Beckman shook his head with a laugh.

When it came to the Whitebeard Pirates,

Shanks cared quite a lot.

Back then,

when he had served as an apprentice aboard the Roger Pirates,

the Whitebeard Pirates had been their longtime rivals.

As one of the few remaining overlords of the old era,

whether out of sentiment or reason,

Whitebeard deserved Shanks's respect.